Alexander Nevski

Alexander Nevski (30 May 1220-14 November 1279) was the Grand Duke of Novgorod from 1236 to 1240 and 1242 to 1279, Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal. He campaigned against the Kingdom of Denmark, Teutonic Order, and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and resisted invasions by Sweden and the Teutonic Knights. He died in 1279, having taken Riga from the Teutonic Knights and Kiev from his former Mongol Empire overlords. He succeeded Yaroslav II of Novgorod and preceded Dimitrii the Honourable.

Biography
The Russian national hero Alexander Nevski was a younger son of Yaroslav, prince of Vladimir. In 1236, Alexander was invited to rule the prosperous city-state of Novgorod, near the Baltic Sea, which had long been a major center of trade. At first, it was Alexander's diplomatic rather than military skills that were called on to protect Novgorod, as the Mongols swept westward to extend their vast empire in 1238-40. Alexander obtained the city's right to self-rule in exchange for paying a handsome tribute. As a result, Novgorod and its lands were never occupied by Mongol forces, and Alexander was free to combat another threat from the west.

In 1240, the Swedes, competitors of Novgorodians in the trapping and trading of fur, sailed up the Neva to crush their rivals. Alexader's defeat of their army brought him the honorary title of Nevski.

He faced a sterner test two years later. The Roman Catholic Teutonic Knights were campaigning annually to the east of Germany against pagans and Orthodox Christians. They targeted Orthodox Novgorod, and by 1241 much of its territory was in the hands of the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Knights. Despite his victory on the Neva, Alexander had been exiled from Novgorod because of political disputes, but was recalled to face the crisis.

Battle on the Ice
Alexander led an army to frozen Lake Peipus, where he fought the Livonian Knights on the ice on April 5, 1242. Alexander's army was larger but mostly consisted of footsoldiers with bows or pikes. The armored Germanic knights charged into their midst, but were soon worn down in prolonged hand-to-hand combat. Alexander's victory ensured that Orthodox Russia was never again seriously threatened by German crusader zeal.

Still collaborating with the Mongols in the interests of peace, Alexander was rewarded by them with the title of Grand Prince of Vladimir.